Ankita-Prajnesh Arjun, Balaram Piperno nominated for Dhyan Chand Award by AITA

New Delhi. Asian Games bronze medalists Ankita Raina and Prajnesh Guneswaran have been nominated by the National Tennis Federation for the prestigious Arjuna Award and Balaram Singh and Enrico Piperno for the Dhyanchand Award. Both Ankita and Prajnesh won individual bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang. Ankita is currently the country’s top singles (182) and doubles (95) women’s player and is set to make her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games next month.

An All India Tennis Association (AITA) official told PTI, “This year we have nominated Ankita and Prajnesh for the Arjuna Award, while Balaram Sir and Enrico Piperno have been nominated for the Life Time Achievement Award, Dhyanchand Award.

The AIFF will recommend Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sports honor for Sunil Chhetri

Ankita has been a key player in India’s Billie Jean King Cup team for the past three years. The 28-year-old was also nominated for the Arjuna Award last year, but Asian Games gold medalist Divij Saran managed to bag the award.

Prajnesh is currently one of the most mature players in India. His career would have been very different had he not lost five crucial years to a knee fracture. The 31-year-old left-hander from Chennai is ranked 148th in the ATP rankings. He played five matches in Davis Cup for the country.

Double happiness for Duti Chand: Recommended for Khel Ratan, also qualified for Tokyo Olympics

Balram Singh, nominated in the Lifetime Achievement category, has a 50-year association with Indian tennis. He is in the running for this honor with Piperno. He coached the Davis Cup team for 27 consecutive times between 1991-2001. The 73-year-old coach reached the quarterfinals as a player at Junior Wimbledon and Junior US Open in 1966.

He is a member of the Senior Selection Committee and has also chaired it in the past. Asian Games (1982) silver medalist Pepperano, 59, coached India’s first Grand Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi from 1997 to 2003. Leander Pesce also showed a great way.

He coached the Indian Fed Cup team from 2000 to 2012 and coached the national women’s team at the Asian Games in Busan (2002), Doha (2006) and Guangzhou (2010). Last year, former Davis Cup coach Nandan Bal was awarded the Dhyan Chand award

Hindi News18 Read the first breaking news in Hindi Today’s Latest News, Live News Updates, Most Reliable Hindi News Website News18 Hindi| read on

Tags: Ankita Raina, Arjuna Award, Balram Singh, Dhyan Chand Award, Enrico Piperno, National Tennis Federation, Prajnesh Guneswaran